What happens when the inevitable happens when you least expect it? I think that was what Steven Moffat was going for in putting together this season. He mixed that in with another of his favourite tropes this week when The Doctor’s past actions came back on him in a way he didn’t expect. This week’s episode was a memorable one but I’m not sure that I’d call it any good until the final ten minutes.
Ori and the Blind Forest Review: Games as Art
How long does it normally take to figure out if a game is any good? It’s not a topic I’ve ever given much thought to until I started writing this review. Ori and the Blind Forest makes a very strong first impression with an opening scene that is guaranteed to make you cry in the first ten minutes of the game. It doesn’t take you long to realize you’re playing one of the best games of 2015.
Wednesday Link-Off: Truthiness
Is the truth really a matter of perspective? I know there are two sides to every story and the truth often lies somewhere in the middle. It almost seems like politicians are rewarded more as they stray farther from the truth. It’s not any one side, either. It’s as if the farther you get from the political centre on either end of the spectrum, the farther you get from the truth.
We’ll have more on that in a minute as we do the Wednesday set of links. Let’s kick things off today with Giada de Laurentiis.
The PolitiFact Truth-O-Meter goes from True to Pants On Fire. The Donald’s claim that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheered when the World Trade Center buildings came down could break the scale. (PolitiFact)
On that note, Bernie Sanders wants his shot at Trump to challenge his “facts.” The trick with people who have no facts is that they’ll force people to spend so long debunking made up stuff that they’ll never have the time to make their own points. (The Hill)
It’s all because Trump is trying to appeal to the GOP base to win a primary. Will this help him win an election? Most of the world hopes not. (The Guardian)
Franchise Hockey Manager 2 Review: Shattering Shanahan
When I was in university, the one game that we played religiously was the latest EA Sports NHL games. Sure, it’s not the best investment of money because the games are largely the same year-to-year but we still all loved playing (and trash-talking). Being a fan of Football Manager, I also gave Sega’s hockey management sim Eastside Hockey Manager a try but was a broke college student so I was limited to the free trial. That and you could cheat your way to the Memorial Cup by literally buying players from other junior teams so where’s the fun in that.
Now, there’s a new player in the sports management sim genre. Out of the Park Developments, who also make the popular Out of the Park series of baseball sims, is getting into the world of hockey with Franchise Hockey Manager. How have they handled the transition from grass and bats and chewing tobacco to ice and skates and stitches on the bench?
The Dollars and Cents of Star Wars (Infographic)
Last week, someone pointed out to me that we’re under a month to the premiere of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Putting the biggest movie franchise in the world in the hands of one of the hottest sci-fi directors who happens to be a noted Star Wars fan has The Force Awakens expected to be one of the biggest movies of all-time. Analysts are expecting Episode VII to top a $1 billion gross, a half-billion dollar opening weekend and maybe even beat $2 billion at the box office.
For more on the money made by Star Wars and the money spent to make that money, we have a handy infographic for your perusal.
Sunday Link-Off: Politics as Usual
I keep saying that the hardest part of doing these linkdumps isn’t finding the links but coming up with the intros to the links. I’ve been busy this weekend and haven’t had much of a chance for writing. The next week on the blog could get annoyingly dull as a result.
Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that we have to do the links. Let’s kick off with Kate Upton.
Did a Conservative MP call a fellow politician an “NDP whore?” The whole of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald newsroom thought so but the story never ran. (Canadaland)
President Obama isn’t a fan of being too politically correct as it can be used to shut down whole conversations that could otherwise be held. (Daily Intelligencer)
Two men were asked not to board a flight because another passenger was afraid to fly with them because they spoke Arabic. They talk about terrorist winning by instilling fear in people. Well, here’s a perfect example. (NBC)
Entertainment Link-Off: Pick Your Poison
The final chapter of The Hunger Games is in cinemas this weekend in Australia! However, if you’re not in a rush to see it in cinemas, you can always camp at home because Marvel’s Jessica Jones has premiered on Netflix. It probably helps that this series stars Krysten Ritter and it’s also getting rave reviews!
After the jump, Peter Jackson reveals why The Hobbit failed, a big reason to go see the Baywatch reboot, a minor character spoiler for Game of Thrones season 6, Zoolander is back, and let’s contemplate on whether not watching Star Wars is a relationship dealbreaker. Continue reading
Doctor Who: Sleep No More Review
If there’s one favourite trick of the Moffat era of Doctor Who, it’s making you afraid of the seemingly ordinary. We’ve seen homicidal statues that move when no one’s looking, carnivorous shadows and being alone in the dark. This week, regular writer and Moffat partner in crime Mark Gatiss has a go at making you scared of the seemingly ordinary. This week’s episode tries to make you scared to sleep.
WRC 5 Review: Dirty Rally
One of our unanticipated annual traditions on et geekera is the review of some annual sports franchises in the fall. In the next little bit, we’ll review Football Manager 2016 (the third entry we’ve reviewed in our under three years of existence) and Franchise Hockey Manager 2 will be the latest addition to the lineup of sport reviews. But the one I’ve been doing the longest between etg and The Lowdown is WRC. After a year’s hiatus, the World Rally Championship game is back. While much has changed, a lot still stays the same.
Wednesday Link-Off: The World This Week
We didn’t have too much on the Paris attacks on Sunday but there has been a lot of new articles and analysis about the attacks since then. There is a lot of interesting insight into the politics of a terrorist attack in today’s links.
So I think it’s time to conclude the introduction and commence the Wednesday links. Let’s kick off with Angelina Jolie.
Naturally, intelligence agencies are using the Paris disaster to try to get more powers. They’re ignoring that story that just came out that said that the pre-9/11 CIA didn’t need massive privacy invasions to find out that it was going to happen. (The Guardian)
A French Redditor tells the tale of how he was so desperate to escape the Bataclan that he crawled over bodies to get away. (Upvoted)
To America, France has always seemed something like a political pawn. After years of bashing the French, the political right is now embracing them as friends for political gain. (IBT)
The Lowdown 